The Town Of Holcomb In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood
Quiet enough to hear the birds chirp all day. Small enough to know every neighbor around. Rural enough to see every star in the midnight sky. Boring enough to get no attention from the outside world. This portrays the town of Holcomb in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. This town consists of run down buildings and citizens who understand the importance of education. To help tell his story, Capote uses alliteration, imagery and his own selection of detail to bring his story to life.
Throughout the story, Capote uses alliteration to keep the reader's attention directed towards the condition of the town. Using word groups to describe the town such as: “haphazard hamlet”,”stucco structure”, and the streets as “unnamed, unshaded and unpaved” provides
the reader with a strategy that appeals to the eye. The descriptive words used in this alliteration expresses how unorganized, boring, and rural the town is and provides the reader with examples that are not as easily forgotten. When looking at the text the words beginning with the same letters catch your eye first therefore sticking in your mind above other strategies that may appear more meaningless to the reader.
In this story, Capote uses an abundance of imagery. His imagery allows the reader to see the buildings as if they were walking down the street among all the run down businesses and houses. The sentence, “The land is flat, and the views are awesomely extensive; horses, herds of cattle, a white cluster of grain…”, provides a great example of imagery that paints a picture of their town scenery. This vivid reference will follow you through the story keeping the look of the town fresh in your mind causing the story to be more enjoyable to the reader.
Throughout the story, Capote uses alliteration to keep the reader's attention directed towards the condition of the town. Using word groups to describe the town such as: “haphazard hamlet”,”stucco structure”, and the streets as “unnamed, unshaded and unpaved” provides
the reader with a strategy that appeals to the eye. The descriptive words used in this alliteration expresses how unorganized, boring, and rural the town is and provides the reader with examples that are not as easily forgotten. When looking at the text the words beginning with the same letters catch your eye first therefore sticking in your mind above other strategies that may appear more meaningless to the reader.
In this story, Capote uses an abundance of imagery. His imagery allows the reader to see the buildings as if they were walking down the street among all the run down businesses and houses. The sentence, “The land is flat, and the views are awesomely extensive; horses, herds of cattle, a white cluster of grain…”, provides a great example of imagery that paints a picture of their town scenery. This vivid reference will follow you through the story keeping the look of the town fresh in your mind causing the story to be more enjoyable to the reader.